Obama endorses 'workable' new NSA surveillance rules

Mar. 25, 2014
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President Obama / Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

President Obama said Tuesday that aides have developed a "workable" plan that would end National Security Agency storage of bulk telephone meta data, leaving the records with private phone companies instead.

"This insures that the government is not in possession of that bulk data," Obama told reporters during the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, Netherlands.

Federal agencies working counter-terrorism investigations could still access the data with judicial approval of specific requests, under the plan being developed by the Obama administration.

Congress must sign off on the administration's new surveillance plan.

"Overall, I am confident that it allows us to do what is necessary in order to deal with the dangers from the terrorist attack, but does so in a way that addresses some of the concerns that people had raised," Obama said.

Obama said there is no evidence that the NSA or the government has abused the use of bulk data in the past, but he recognizes "that people were concerned about what might happen in the future."

U.S. surveillance policies overseas have drawn protests from foreign governments and citizens.

Responding to a question from a Dutch journalist, Obama denied that the U.S. is spying on European or American people or businesses, and said some of the news coverage of the surveillance programs has been "sensationalized."

But he understands the concern about potential abuse, Obama said, and the U.S. must work to "win the back the trust" foreign countries and their governments.

"That's not going to happen overnight," the president said.

While traveling in Europe and Saudi Arabia, Obama faces a self-imposed deadline Friday on developing new rules that would end the NSA's bulk data collection.

Obama called for new rules in a January speech, and gave aides until March 28 - Friday - to develop legislation to end the NSA's ability to sweep up and store all kinds of telephone records. The records would instead be held by private phone companies.

The New York Times reports that, under legislation being developed, "the bulk records would stay in the hands of phone companies, which would not be required to retain the data for any longer than they normally would. And the NSA. could obtain specific records only with permission from a judge, using a new kind of court order."

Any changes would require congressional approval, and lawmakers are coming up with their own ideas.

The House Intelligence Committee is expected to introduce a bill Tuesday that would also end bulk data collection by the NSA, and keep records at phone companies.

The House bill, however, would not require a judge's permission before the government seeks specific records from the phone companies during counter-terrorism investigations. The House plan would make judicial review retroactive.

The Washington Post reports that the House plan "would have the court make that determination 'promptly' after the FBI submits a number to a phone company. If the court did not approve the number as being linked to an agent of a foreign power, including terrorist groups, the data collected would be expunged."